A/HRC/39/48 obscure health problems arising in the workplace. States should ensure that criminal sanctions are applicable to businesses and other actors that fail to disclose health and safety information. Employers and suppliers of chemical substances should clearly state in their policies that they will not keep such information secret. Principle 10 — The right to safe and healthy work is inseparable from freedom of association, the right to organize and the right to collective bargaining. 96. Freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining are fundamental labour rights, applying to all people in all States regardless of the level of economic development. 75 Without freedom of association, including to form unions, and the right to collective bargaining workers stand little chance of defending their right to safe and healthy work and other human rights. For human rights obligations to be met and the objective of sustainable development achieved, rights holders must be involved and participation by workers throughout the system should be upheld.76 97. States are obliged to protect, promote, respect and fulfil the rights to freedom of association, to organize and to collective bargaining through effective legislation, regulation and policies. They must ensure that everyone can exercise the right to freedom of association in the workplace without discrimination. 77 98. Businesses should meet their obligations to respect the rights of workers to freedom of association, to organize and to collective bargaining. States should fulfil their role in preventing or halting violations of these rights by businesses and other parties. Principle 11 — Workers, representatives of workers, whistle-blowers and rights defenders must all be protected from reprisal and the threat of reprisal. 99. Empowering rights holders, particularly those most at risk, to defend their rights helps States meet their obligations under human rights law and upholds the principle of accountability and the rights to information and an effective remedy, among others. 100. For workers to enjoy their right to safe and healthy work, workers or their representatives must be able to raise their concerns with employers, their co-workers and government agencies without fear of retaliation. Workers, whistle-blowers and human rights defenders must be free from intimidation, threats and other reprisals for exercising their rights and defending the rights of those who are, or may be, victims of occupational exposures to toxic and otherwise hazardous substances. 101. The threat of loss of employment or income should never be used to gain an advantage when trying to reach an agreement on protecting the rights of workers to safe and healthy work. This includes threats by employers to move jobs abroad. 102. States should have in place national protection programmes for defenders of labour rights and initiate appropriate disciplinary, civil and criminal proceedings against perpetrators of reprisals, intimidation or threats of reprisals against defenders. States should commission independent periodic reviews of national protection programmes to enhance effectiveness in protecting defenders of labour rights, in consultation with workers, whistle-blowers and defenders, as well as trade unions and civil society organizations that represent them. 75 76 77 ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work (1998). ILO Safety and Health Convention. For example, on the grounds of type of work or employment, nature of the workplace, enterprise or sector, or immigration or other status. 19